Harsh, Yet Soft
by Marionecto
Summary: [MOVIEVERSE] After Abe's grandson shows up and has some tea in the children's home, Enoch is as moody as ever. Olive goes after her friend to find out what was wrong with him. Is it jealousy, or simply a lack of trust? [Enolive] [again, sorry for tagging the book;; if you have seen the movie, you know what scene this is]


Olive couldn't understand why Enoch was so bitter in front of a new guest, especially if he was from the Portman family.

While she was warming up some tea for Jake, the 'new blood', Enoch was passing by with some jars, different kinds of hearts inside them. The pyromancer put some tea on a small cup for the new boy and saw him.

"Do you want help with that, Enoch?"

He glared at her like a child who didn't get what it wanted, visibly annoyed with the fact she wasn't helping him.

"Oh, don't bother. I don't want to ruin your little tea party."

And walked off, leaving the red-haired girl dumbfounded. She put the tea kettle on the table and ran off, right behind her friend.

"Enoch, what happened?" she asked, a bit worried with his negative behavior. "What's going on?"

He hurriedly walked upstairs, leaving her question without an answer, and stopped in front of his room, door closed. Olive wasn't as fast as him, but managed to get to him before he locked himself in his room.

"Go back to your tea party. You and that moron seemed to be having fun."

The girl grabbed Enoch's upper arm, gloved fingers holding it tightly.

"Please, Enoch, tell me! What's wrong?"

"Didn't I tell you to go have fun with him?" he glared at her with sharp eyes, scaring her for a moment. "You probably have more fun with him than with me."

He lowered his gaze, slightly regretting what he said.

The pyromancer opened her mouth, but shut it, surprised with his remark. She mentally shook her head, trying to convince herself he didn't mean anything with that.

"I'm not leaving," Olive replied, still holding on his upper arm. "So, please, stop telling me to go back. I won't leave you."

She instantly regretted saying it too, and tried to cover the multiple meanings that could be found behind her sentences. The red headed girl let go of his arm quickly and held her own upper arm, rubbing it with embarrassment.

"…Not now, at least…"

For an instant, she thought she had seen his pale face become pink.

The necromancer sighed, staring at her again, then moving his arms slightly, carrying all the jars, to indicate he couldn't open the door. The pyromancer got the message instantly and opened the door right away.

Enoch set the jars on his workplace and sat down in front of them, analyzing the content. His friend entered the room after him, closing the door behind them without an apparent reason.

"I'll help you, Enoch. I'm sorry."

"Was that Abe's grandson?" he asked Olive, without looking at her.

She put her hands together on her lap, standing beside him as she always did.

"Yes, Enoch."

The boy chuckled for a split second and walked to his wall full of doll heads, his index finger traveling through each one of them to choose one.

"He does look like a moron." he declared, taking one of the heads and analyzing it. "I bet he'll leave us the same way Abe did."

"Why are you feeling so negative towards him?" the pyromancer dared to ask. "Maybe he will actually stay."

Her friend sat down and put the head on the table, staring at Olive for a moment.

"I'd rather not," Enoch replied, without further explanation.

"…Why?"

He walked around again, opening one or two drawers and taking small arms and legs from them, shoving them in the drawers again when they weren't the way he wanted.

"Did you go pick him up or something?"

Olive glanced at the necromancer, bothered by his sudden change of subject. She sighed, knowing she'd have to tell him everything. She kind of wanted to, though.

"Yes, Enoch. Me, Emma and Millard."

"Hmm" Enoch nodded, still looking for the perfect limbs for his new doll. "And what did you do?"

His sudden interest on her actions made her heart jump a little. She felt ashamed of telling him she set fire to a pub, even if setting fire to things was the only thing she could really do with her peculiarity.

"That's not something you should know."

The boy turned around and stared at his friend, raising an eyebrow with curiosity. She couldn't have done something too bad.

"Tell me, Olive."

She hesitated, rubbing her gloved hands nervously. He knew what she could do, so he wouldn't be surprised, right?

"…I may have started a fire on a pub."

Enoch turned and shoved some more doll limbs inside a full drawer, laughing a little.

"Wish I had seen it."

Olive glanced at him with surprise, a proud smile plastered on her face.

Her friend regained his serious posture and closed the drawers after some time, small arms and legs on his hands. Maybe it was the right time to ask him again. The pyromancer cleared her throat, surprising the boy, and she stared at him with a smile.

"Again, Enoch…" she began. "Why can't you trust the newcomer?"

Enoch sighed, walking to his chair again.

"That's not something you should know."

The red-haired girl stomped one foot, frustrated at how secretive her friend could be and annoyed at the fact he imitated her.

"You can't trust me to do anything, can you?"

The necromancer sat down again, putting everything he needed on the table, turning on the table lamp.

"Actually, I can trust you to do something, Olive."

"Really?"

Enoch nodded, putting the small doll head carefully in front of the table lamp. Then, he tilted his head to the left, indicating the first floor.

"You could bring me some tea from downstairs."

She crossed her arms, wanting some kind of reward for it. Olive didn't want to be a mere assistant, and yet she didn't know why she still helped him after so much time. He never really rewarded her with anything. Was it a mistake to keep being his friend?

"Will you tell me why you can't trust him then?"

He looked up at her, not wanting to keep promises.

"Maybe?"

The pyromancer sighed and walked out of his room, going downstairs slowly, the stairs creaking with every step. She wondered how Emma could still go downstairs without breaking the steps in half.

Enoch sighed loudly, grabbing tools that looked like surgery tools, his hand lingering on one for too long. He put it on the table and shook his head slightly, bringing one hand to his forehead. _I'm acting like a weakling. I should just kill all these emotions._

The necromancer walked to a window, covered with blinds. Emma would normally call him at that time to help her put baby squirrels back to the tree. He pushed the blinds away and looked through the dusty glass, seeing the 'new blood' helping Emma with her chore.

Olive walked back into the room, a small cup of tea in hand, placing it on Enoch's workplace.

"Here's the tea, Enoch." the red-haired girl announced. "Now, tell me."

He turned around and covered the window again with the blinds, sitting down again, raising his eyebrows at her demand.

"Tell you what?"

Standing beside him, she stomped one foot again, annoyed he wouldn't say anything after all. Crossing her arms and leaning closer to him, she replied:

"The reason you seem to dislike Jake so much!"

"It's nothing, Olive" Enoch declared, taking a sip. "Nice tea."

The red headed girl's heart jumped with the compliment. She couldn't simply act weak, though.

"Thank you, Enoch." Olive replied firmly, hands on her lap again. "But, it is something. Tell me, please."

The necromancer placed the cup on the table, making a loud noise, indicating his annoyance. He didn't want her to replace him with that... Idiot, but he didn't know how to say it in a different way.

"Again, he'll leave us just like Abe did" he decided to finally answer. "So don't get too attached to him. Actually, don't even talk to him."

The red-haired girl stared at him in confusion, not understanding why Enoch was being so strict and negative about the guest.

"What?"

That was all she could manage to say.

Enoch stood up and glared at her, a frown on his face. He walked towards her with heavy steps, giving Olive no way to escape as next thing behind her was a wall.

"I said, don't talk to him." he demanded, eyes on her. If looks could kill, she'd be already dead.

She held her own upper arm again, nervous with the lack of distance between them.

"…Why?" the pyromancer dared to ask, afraid of how he'd react.

"You're not his for the taking. We both know that."

He then turned around and walked away, leaving a dumbfounded Olive standing. Her heart skipped a beat, and she hid her face behind her gloved hands. She removed them moments later, not knowing what to say.

"Um…"

The boy looked away from her, walking to the dusty window again. He just knew he'd screwed up.

"Actually, forget I said anything."

He looked through it, Olive joining in instants later, both watching Jake and Emma walking back to the inside of the house. The other kids played carelessly, not paying attention to the duo. _He's got his eyes on Emma, then._

"What do you mean?" Olive asked, not being able to understand the meanings behind his words.

Enoch held back a smile, facing his friend with a serious face. He hardly ever smiled, anyways.

"Maybe he won't be so much of a bother."

The necromancer sat down again, trying to focus on his project.

"Help me out, Olive."

Olive walked to her place, giving him the first tool he needed. It was going to be a long day, and she was happy to be beside him.

 _Was he jealous?_

She let the thought linger in her mind, not being able to hide a smile that lasted long.

o o o o

"Jake" Olive called, a cheerful grin on her face, opening the door to the guest. "Please, come meet Enoch properly!"


End file.
